Shock forming and making machine.



I. L. CULKIN. SHOCK FORMING AND MAKING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILE D IULY 13,1915. 1-,236,60. Patented Aug. 14,1917.

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J. L. CULKIN.

SHOCK FORMING AND MAKING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED JULY 13.1915.

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SHOCK FORMING AND MAKING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED JULY 13.1915.

. 1,26,680, Patented Aug. 14, 1917.

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JOHN L. CULKIN, F CHATSWORTH, ILLINOIS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 14:, 11917.

Application filed July 13, 1915. Serial No. 39,656.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN L. CULKIN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chatsworth, in the county State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Shock Forming and Making Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a machine for forming and making or erecting shocks from bundles of oats or other grain, and one of its objects is to provide a shock forming and making machine which may be employed in connection with any conventional style of binder, to take the bundles or sheaves of grain as they come from the binder, form the same into shocks, and stably deposit the shocks upon the ground in windrows.

A further object of the invention is to provide a shock forming and making machine which is simple, reliable and eflicient in construction and operation, capable of being manufactured and sold at a reasonable figure, and composed of a comparatively small number" of parts of. a character not liable to get outof order.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a shock forming and making machine which will gather the bundles in a' shiftthe same to a vertical position and deposit the assembled bundles with sufiicient force upon the ground to produce a self-supporting shock, and in such a way as to prevent the bundles from tilting over. 7

A still further object of the invention is to provide a shock forming and making machine which is adjustable to suit different lengths of grain and sizes of bundles and which may be manually controlled in operation to insure the correct assemblage of the bundles, of any certain number to ashock, and the firm deposit of the same upon the ground.

l/Vith these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the'details of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of the machine, partly in section, showing the grippers in normal position;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same, partly in section; r

Fig. 3 is a detail vertical section of the horizontal position,

of Livingston and means for position;

Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view showing the means for operating the shifting devices for actuating the grippers;

Fig. 5 is a sectional plan view showing one of the latches and its releasing device;

Fig. 6 is a rear elevation of the machine with portions broken away for better illustration;

Fig. 7 is a detail View on an enlarged scale of the means for engaging and disengaging the clutch associated with the follower heads;

Fig. 8 is a detail section showing the means for adjustably securing the abutment plate;

Fig. 9 is a diagrammatic view showing the cable for closing the grippers and the clutch mechanism associated therewith.

In carrying my invention into practice, I provide a shock forming and making machine which is adapted to be suitably connected to and to travel across the field with any of the types of binders used and to receive the bundles of grain as they are formed and form the same into shocks, of any desired number to the shock at the will of the operator and as conditions may require. This machine comprises a main frame 1 mounted for travel at a suitable elevation above the ground surface upon one or more supporting wheels 2, said frame being adapted for connection at its inner end with the binder in any suitable or desired manner.

At the said inner end of the frame are journaled in parallel relation to each other and to such end of the frame a drive shaft 3 and a counter-shaft 4c, the latter being driven from the former by sprocket or other suitable gearing 5. In practice, the drive shaft 3 may be and preferably is driven from the binder mechanism in any desired manner. The frame 1 supports a gathering platform 6 to receive the bundles or sheaves of grain from the binder. These bundles or sheaves pass from the binder on to the platform 6 over rods 7 which may form a grating down which they roll. Reciprocating pushers 8 are driven by cranks 9 from the shaft 4 and serve to push or shove the bundles of grain locking the grippers in gripping on to. the platform 6 to dispose them in position to be formed into a shock and to keep them clear of the shock forming mechanism,

as hereinafter described.

. lunged as Arranged at the outer end of the frame is a combined stop and guide plate 10., which extends upwardly and inwardly in a curved or scroll-shaped line, said plate serving as an abutment against which the bundles of grain strike and by which such bundles are turned or rolled over until the proper number' of bundles are'gathered to form the shock. The butt ends of the bundles passing onto the platform come in contact with a front transverse abutment board or plate 11 hinged at its inner edge, as at 12, to a short inclined guide plate or section 13 at 14, to the mainframe so as to adapt the abutment board or plate to be adjusted with relation to the gripping mechanism which engagesand forms the bundles into a shock, whereby the butt ends of the bundles or sheaves are adapted to be alined and the machine set or adjusted according to the lengthof the grain to operate upon bundles of different sizes or lengths. The hinged section 13, which constantly maintains an inclined position, guides the bundles toward the board or plate 11 which is adapte dby the compensating adjustments of the section 13 to always maintain a straight transverse position to square and aline the butt ends of bundles, as will bereadily understood. The outer end of the board or plate 11 is adapted to be fastened in adjusted position by a suitable fastening means 15, which may be in the form'ofa bolt or screw having adjustable engagement with the platform 6,

'The assembled bundles are adapted to be engaged and held to form a shock by a pair of substantially U-shaped grippers or shock formingmembers 16 having hook shaped free ends 17 said grippers being carried by swinging arms 18, pivotally connected, as as 19, to a bar or lever 20, extending from front to rear in a direction parallel with the a line of travel of the machine, said lever being hinged or pivoted to swing vertically, as at 21, upon a swinging bar 22 forming part of a swinging frame. This frame includes the bar and sets or pairs of links 23 and 23 and 2 1 and 24, the links 23 and 24L piv otally connecting the bar 22 with the links 23' and 2 1 and the links 23 and 2 1 con necting the links 23 and 2-fl to the main frame, said links having centers of motion adapting them in their back and forth movements to act in the nature of parallel motion devices by which the carrier bar 22 of the swinging frame which supports the pivoted grippers will always move in a horizontal position parallel with the ground, irrespective of the height or level of said frame bar 22 above the surface of the ground.

The arms 18 of the grippers 16 have opening's for the passageof and to slidably engage the curved or segmental shaped guide ends is a locking plate 28 having rack teeth of the grippers at one of its 7 29 to engage and interlock with a dog or pawl 30 on the other gripper, whereby in the closing movements of the grippers the ratchet shaped teeth 29 will slide'o-ver and interlock with the dog 30, thus automatically holding the grippers closed at whatever relative position they 'may be. The free end of the lock plate is movable in'a guide yoke 31 carrying a spring pressed plunger 32 which presses said lock plate into locking position, a pin 33' carried by the lock plate serving to hold it from accidentally moving through and becoming dis engaged from the yoke, as will be readily understood. i

When the required number of bundles are supplied in proper position upon the plat form 6 the grippers are swung downwardly and forwardlyon the hinge or pivot 21 to a vertical position to properly dispose them to embrace and draw the bundles together to form the shock which is to be deposited on the ground in an upright position. Nor mally the grippers are held in an elevated horizontal position against pivotal move ment by a latch 3a which is adapted to be disengaged by a releasing device 35 operable by a rod 35, whereupon the grippers may drop automatically or be manually shifted to gathering position. When in such position the grippers are adapted to be closed or forced inwardly to embrace and clamp the bundles through the action of a pairof movable followers or heads 36 and 37 which have pins or projections to engage the hooked ends 17 of the grippers. These heads have guide members 38 fitted to travel upon a guide rod 39. A cable, rope or other flexible draft connection 40 is secured at one end to the head 36 by means of a spring or elastic connection 41 and thence passes around a pulley 42 carried by and movable with the head 37 and is looped and, also passes around another pulley 43 on the main shaft, the said crble or rope being attached at its opposite end to the pulley 13, so as to wind upon and unwind from said pulley, whereby the heads 36 and 37 are adapted to be moved toward each other to force the grippers to a closed position in which position the grippers are locked to engage the formed shock of any given size by the action of the locking plate. The pulley 4:3 is

'nism composed of the follower loosely mounted on the main shaft 3 and is adapted to be connected with and disconnected from said shaft through the medium of a clutch 44 adapted to be thrown into operation by a rod or other operating device 45 and to be tripped and thrown out of operation by a button or contact member 46 on the belt, rope or cable 40, so that the follower heads will be released upon the maximum travel thereof, the spring 41 serving to permit the cable to extend itself in case the button or contact member does not positively release the clutch quick enough, and also serving to yield or give when an overload falls upon the machine, as in the addition of an excess number of bundles to the shock, so as to avoid liability of damage to the working parts. The follower heads have knobs or flanged projections 47 to pivotally and slidably engage bowed spring retracting plates 48 fixed at one end to the main frame and adapted to be tensioned by the inward movements of said follower heads for subsequently returning the same and the cable actuated thereby to normal position, coiled springs 49 being provided to supplement the spring action of the plates 48 to secure certainty of operation. It will thus be understood that upon the assemblage of the bundles the grippers are turned downward vertically to a position to engage the same are closed about the bundles to hold the same united in shock form, and are then released by the retraction. of the follower mechanism to permit the grippers to be again swung upward to a horizontal position, in which position the grippers are turned and hold the bundles vertically with their butt ends downward, thus disposing the bundles so as to be deposited upon the ground to form the shock.

An arm 50 projecting at right angles from the lever 20 is attached bya coiled spring 51 to a block 52 adjustably mounted on the carrier bar 22 so that said spring may be tensioned. The function of this spring is to assist and make the grippers easy to be swung downward, but serves mainly and primarily to hold the grippers when turned downward in engagement with the pins or projections of the follower heads. It will be observed that the gripper actuating mechaheads and cable is arranged immediately above the platform and in line with a slot therein, and it will be understood that the function of the pushers 8 is to move the bundles outwardly away from the adjacent follower head and cooperating parts, the plate 10 serving a similar function at the opposite side or end of the machine. As soon as the bundles are assembled and engaged by the grippers the grippers are swung upwardly or returned to a horizontal position through the action of a retracting cable or rope 53 the release of connected at one end therewith by a coiled spring or elastic connection 53, the opposite end of the cable being connected with and adapted to wind upon and unwind from a pulley 54. This pulley 54 is loosely mounted on the shaft 4 and adapted to be engaged with and disengaged therefrom by a clutch device 55 adapted to. be manually thrown into action by an operating rod or device 56, to cause the cable to be wound upon the pulley and to draw upon and swing the grippers upwardly as described. A button or contact device 57 is provided upon the rope or cable 53 to engage a shifting member and throw the clutch out of action when the cable is wound up and the grippers and shock swung upwardly, whereby an automatic throwing out of action of the winding mechanism is secured. The spring 53 operates to allow the cable to extend itself to a certain extent and prevent damage of the parts in the event that the button 57 should slip or not positively throw the clutch out of operation at the exact moment it should.

The swinging frame which supports the pivoted or swinging grippers is held in normal position as shown in full lines in Figs. 1 and 2 by a latch 58, adapted to be released through the action of a releasing device 59 manually controlled by the operation of a rod 60 or other suitable control device. When this latch is released and the grippers have been swung upwardly to support the bundles or sheaves in assembled relation the weight of the load of these bundles 'or sheaves will cause the swinging frame to swing outwardly and rearwardly, said frame with the grippers, carried thereby also swinging downwardly and clear of the platform, as illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 2. In this movement the grippers and bar 22 are caused to move horizontally or to maintain a position parallel with the ground by the action of the sets of links 28, 23 and 24 and 24, so that'when the bundles are swung behind and clear of the platform the lower or butt ends of the sheaves will be brought to rest squarely upon the surface of the ground. The outward motion of the swinging frame is limited and controlled by the action of a spring 61 opposing a yielding resistance to its outward movement, by which the swinging motion is rendered gradual and sudden motion prevented and the bundles caused to come easily and yet solidly and squarely in contact with the ground, so that when released they will be firmly set and prevented from tilting or falling over. This spring 61 serves, upon the shock by the grippers, to automatically return the swinging frame to normal position.

Pivotally supported upon the lever 20 is a downwardly and rearwardly inclined trip rod 62 which is provided with an upwardly extending arm 63 forming atits point of junction with the rod acontact bend or portion 64. The upper end of the arm 63 slidably engages a guide sleeve 65 pivoted to the locking plate 28 and arranged in ad- Vance of a head frame 66 carrying the arm 50 and in which the arms 18 are slidably mounted; in rear of the bracket 26, the construction being such that when the swinging frame moves outwardly and deposits the shock the contact portion 64 will engage the ground and the arm 63 will be forced upwardly so as to retract the locking bar 28 with which it is connected, as shown in Fig. 8, against the resistance of the spring pressed plunger 32, thus allowing. the springs 27 to open or spread the grippers. When the grippers are returned to. normal position after depositing the shock as previously described, together with the swinging frame, the parts of the machine will be restored to normal position for the succeeding shock forming and making operation.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, the construction and mode of operation of my new and improved shock forming and making machine will be readily understood, and it will be seen that, in addition to its simplicity and inexpensiveness of construction, and ease and reliability of operation, it possesses manifold advantages, among them the operation by power of the parts to relieve the operator of laborious work, while permittingthe operator to control all of the working movements at will, to form a shock consisting of any desired number of bundles and to deposit the shocks in windrows in an absolutely certain and reliable manner and without liability of the shocks being insecurely set and turning. over or falling to the ground. Furthermore, it will be seen that as all the actions are easy and positive the resistances, shocks and jars and working strains are reduced to the minimum, providing an attachment which, may not only be operated in connection with any type of binder, but which will enable the operation of forming and depositing the shocks to be easily, conveniently and expeditiously performed. While the "struc- 'tural features disclosed are preferred, it will of course be understood that changes in theconstruction, form and arrangement of parts within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims may be made without departing from the spirit or sacriicing any of the advantages of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A shock forming and making machine comprising a main frame including a bundle receiving platform, a swinging carrier parallel with the ground, shock forming members pivotally mounted on said carrier frame for'movement froma horizontal ma.

vertical position and vice versa,,means for controlling the swinging movements of the carrier frame, means for controlling the pivotal movements of the shock forming members and means for opening and closingthe shock forming.v members.

2. A shock forming and making machine comprising a main. frame including a bundle assembling platform, means at one end of the platform for receiving and pushing the bundles on to said platform, shock forming and depositing mechanism supported by the platform, a curved stop and guide plate at the opposite end ofthe platform to cause the. bundles to be properly grouped, an adjustable head board at the front of the platform to square the butt ends of the bundles, and means for controlling the working parts.

3'. A shockforming and making machine comprising a main frame including an assembling platform, a swinging frame including parallel motion members adapting said frame to be raised and lowered when swung inwardly and outwardly but to maintain a position parallel with the ground, bundle grippers pivotally mounted upon the frame for movement from a horizontal to a vertical position and vice versa, means for con trolling the swinging frame, means for closing the grippers about the bundles, and means for subsequently releasing the grippers upon the. deposit of the shock.

4. A shock forming and making. machine including a bundle assembling platform, a swinging carrier-frame, a carrier member pivoted to swing vertically upon the frame and provided with grippers movable to open and closed positions, means for swinging the carrier member downwardly to bring the grippers into engaging position, means for closing and locking the grippers about the bundles, meansfor swinging the swinging frame outwardly under the weight of the bundles, means for opening the grippers to release the bundles, and means for returning the parts to normal position.

5. A shock forming and making machine including a bundle assembling platform, a swinging carrier frame, grippers pivotally mounted upon the frame to be swung downward to a'vertical position to engage the recumbent bundles and swung upwardly to av horizontal position to hold the bundles vertically, means adapting the swinging frame for outward movement under the weight of the bundles, means for closing and locking the grippers about the bundles, and means for releasing the grippers and reparts after actuation to normal releasing the grippers, and means for re turning the parts after actuation to normal position.

7 A shock forming and making machine including a bundle assembling platform having assembling or guiding means there on, a frame mounted to swing to a high position above the platform and to a lower position beyond the platform while maintaining a substantially horizontal position, means for holding the frame from movement, releasing it for movement under the weight of the formed shock and returning it to normal position, pivotally mounted grippers upon the frame having locking means for holding the same in closed position when actuated, and means for normally holding them spread apart, means for holding the grippers in normal position and releasing the same for downward tilting movement, means for closing the grippers about the bundles, and means for unlocking the grippers to release the shock and for returning the parts to normal position after actuation.

8. A shock forming and making machine including a bundle assembling platform, a swinging frame, means for controlling said copies of this patent may be obtained for five .carried by said frame,

frame and permitting it to swing outwardly under the weight of the bundles, grippers pivotally mounted upon said frame, means for closing the grippers about the bundles, means for locking the grippers in closed position, means for releasing the grippers to deposit the shock, and means for returning the parts to normal position after actuation.

9. A shock forming and making machine including a bundle assembling platform, a swinging frame including supporting links, means for normally holding the frame from movement, means for permitting outward movement of the frame under the weight of the bundles and returning the same to normal position, pivotally mounted grippers springs for spreading the grippers, a locking device for looking the same in closed position, means for closing the grippers about the bundles and setting said locking device, and means for releasing said locking device and returning the grippers to normal position.

10. A shock forming and making ma chine including a bundle assembling platform, a swinging frame, means for controlling the same, grippers pivotally mounted upon the frame, springs for normally holding the grippers open, a latch device for locking the grippers in closed position, relatively movable members for closing the grippers, means for throwing said members into and out of action, means for releasing the latch device, and means for returning the grippers to normal position after deposit of the shock.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

JOHN L. CULKIN.

Witnesses:

BENNETT S. Jonas, W. R. BAUM.

cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. 0. 

